When it comes to top-six forwards and long-term deals, the New Jersey Devils haven't had the best luck. That didn't stop GM Lou Lamoriello from signing Travis Zajac to the first max-year deal under the new CBA.

Zajac's contract, called "long-term" by the team without any other information was announced on Wednesday. The combination of years and salary, reported shortly thereafter by ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, was eye-catching: eight years and $46 million ($5.75 million salary cap hit) for a player coming off an injury and with no 70-point seasons to his name.

As per the rules of the new CBA, the deal is not frontloaded, according to Sportnet's Nick Kypreos: $3.5 million in year one, $5 million in Year 2, $6.5 million in Years 3-6 and $5.75 million in Years 7-8. Eight years is the longest possible term, and is only an option for teams resigning their own players.

Zajac, 27, played in just 15 regular-season games last season because of an Achilles tendon injury. Before that, though, he had a games-played streak of 401, and built a deserved reputation as a strong two-way player.

He was at his best in 2009-10, when he posted career highs of 25 goals and 67 points, and has hit the 20-goal mark one other time in six tries. His double-overtime Game 6 goal helped the Devils avoid elimination in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last season. They went on to lose in the Stanley Cup finals to the LA Kings.

"Travis Zajac has become a solid, all-situation performer and one of the core leaders of our hockey club," Lamoriello said in the release.

The nature of the deal suggests that the Devils think Zajac is capable of being their No. 1 center for the foreseeable future. Whether that happens is anyone's guess, given that he hasn't been healthy since early 2011 and was most successful centering Zach Parise, but Lamoriello is certainly paying him as if that'll be the case.

Lamoriello couldn't keep Parise in the fold in the offseason; he signed a 13-year, $98 million deal with the Minnesota Wild. Also, winger and leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk (15 years, $100 million) publicly toyed with the idea of staying with his KHL team after the lockout ended.

The next step for Zajac could be the Devils' captaincy, which opened up when Parise left.